Sen. Barbara Boxer to Hold Weekly 'Open Forums' on Climate Change

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will hold weekly “open forums” on climate change next year, and she hopes Republicans and Democrats will participate in the “climate change clearinghouse” to discuss potential global warming legislation.

“We are going to review the latest information, we are going to work on supporting a major bill, we are also going to work on various smaller provisions that we think will move us forward and focus on green jobs, energy efficiency and making sure that we get the carbon out of the air, and work with the administration on some executive stuff,” Boxer toldThe Hill.

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Boxer, who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said she thought the clearinghouse will be “major and important” because it will give Senators a chance to discuss the latest science on climate change as it comes in so they are “all up to date.”

“It is a place where people can come to give information, to get information, to ask questions of staff. We will have a good staff presence there,” Boxer said.

Boxer said any major climate change bill would try to cap carbon emissions and find ways to “harden our infrastructure to protect our people against extreme weather.”

Boxer said she asked Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) about whether Collins would introduce the so-called “cap and dividend” bill she co-authored with Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) in 2009, and Boxer said Collins may be interested.